Research Suggests Your Food Instagrams Aren’t Pointless After All

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Saving the world, one Insta at a time!Photo: Lucia Lambriex/Getty Images

Food Instagrams generally fall into three categories: boastful (impossibly expensive fine-dining experiences), cringe-y (why TF do you think that is appetizing), and uninspiring (a cup of coffee, very cool). What can I say? I’m not a fan of food porn. But for those who are, good news has arrived, for multiple studies conclude that — OMG — Instagramming your food actually makes it taste better!

Mashable reports that a new study suggests Instagramming your food makes it taste better because it “increases attitudes and taste evaluations of the experience when consumption actually takes place.” It has less to do with actually taking the picture, and more to do with delayed gratification.

The Huffington Post explored a related phenomenon in 2013, after a study showing that“rituals enhance the enjoyment of consumption” was published. That study did not address Instagram specifically, but found that when people performed other rituals before eating, they savored their food more thoroughly. A researcher told the Huffington Post that “[Instagram] seems like a ritual that could enhance the pleasure from food.”

However, the new study found that photographing healthier foods also might make them more appealing. “How might teens approach a plate of veggies differently if asked to first post an artful photo of it on Instagram?” Mashable asks.

So next time you want to spice up your beautiful yet bland home-cooked dinner, just take an Instagram!